Sinclair set to face London Irish team-mates in Toronto

High flier: Jebb Sinclair wins lineout ball for London Irish in their final game of the season against Sale (Image: Eddie Greville)

Share

Jebb Sinclair is hoping to be battling it out with London Irish team-mates Blair Cowan and Kieran Low when his native Canada take on Scotland next month.

The versatile forward said: “Canada have a five-or-ten day camp at the end of the month and then the team is picked from that.”

“There is a good chance we could be facing both those guys in the back row so it will be good getting to tackle Kieran and trying to keep Blair off our ball all day long.”

Low and Cowan have both been included in the touring Scotland squad, and Sinclair said: “The team will definitely have its work cut out.”

He added: “I will be excited to show them around Canada and I would not have to break my Wednesday tradition of breakfast with Kieran if he is in Toronto so it would be good.”

Sinclair hails from New Brunswick, about 1,000 miles east of Toronto.

“Not too far by Canadian standards, but far by UK standards,” he said.

Canada face Scotland in Toronto on June 14, in between their Pacific Nations Cup matches against Japan in Vancouver and the United States in Sacramento.

But the long-term aim is most definitely next year’s World Cup where they are in a group with France, Ireland, Italy and Romania.

Sinclair, who is equally at home in the back row or second row, said: “We have plateaued over the last year or 18 months so it will be important for us to kick on. Certainly this summer is the start.

“We do not want to go to the World Cup just to make up the numbers.

“We want to take some scalps, look for a quarter-final place and then anything can happen in the knockout stages.

“The camp will consist of a big squad of 40 guys that’ll be used in the World Cup (preparations), depending on how they come on. Obviously you only travel for home tours with 26 or so, so some of those guys will get cut.

“It starts realistically this summer with building that core group of 10, 12, 15, 17 guys that you are going to want to carry with you until September next year.

And Sinclair warned: “I think this summer is the time to attack Scotland. That is certainly what we will be looking for. We want a big scalp.”